Principal Software Engineer — Autonomy Validation

generalmotors

Sunnyvale (CA)

On-site

USD 239,000 - 366,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Health and wellbeing programs

GM vehicle discounts

Job summary

General Motors seeks a Principal Software Engineer in Autonomy Behavior Validation to define technical direction for counterfactual simulation and trustworthy engineering evidence. You will lead predicate-driven scene reconstruction, human and road-user models, and scalable validation workflows to support safety decisions and product launches.

The role emphasizes Python-driven analysis, production-quality software, and collaboration across Safety, Legal, and Product teams.

Qualifications

Master’s degree in systems engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, robotics, human factors, or related field.
10+ years of professional experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, vehicle development, simulation, systems engineering, human factors, or safety-critical validation.
Proven record evaluating autonomous vehicles for commercial fleet launches or high-consequence products.

Responsibilities

Set the technical strategy and architecture for counterfactual behavior evaluation and scalable scene perturbations.
Lead conversion of real incidents and simulation events into executable, provenance-preserving scenarios.
Implement and validate human and road-user response models against benchmarks and requirements.
Define scalable pipelines for parameter extraction, scene reconstruction, counterfactual swaps, fuzzing, and analysis of large scenario sets.
Establish validation methods for the counterfactual product, including baseline comparisons and traceability to requirements.
Lead cross-functional work across Behavior, Simulation, Safety, Human Factors, Legal, Product, and Operations.